Disclaimer: Do you REALLY think I'm that good?
AN: One setsuna is approximately 1/72 of a second.
BOOM!
The ground shuddered as Will stepped through the portal, causing her to fall onto her backside into a puddle of muddy water. Will let out a stream of extremely colourful and violent curses that are unprintable.
"Foul language indicates a coarse mind Sword mistress Vandom." A distinctly upper class voice told her firmly. Will's head snapped round and she looked up into the smirking face of the annoying Earth discipline Swords mistress, Cornelia Hale. (If Will was honest with herself, Cornelia was actually a pretty nice person under all that attitude. But Will wasn't feeling exactly friendly.)
"You're my new sensei, I presume?" Will asked irritably and Cornelia smiled nastily and nodded.
"Yes. And because of the terrible language you used just now, you need to do fifty press ups."
"Fifty!" Will asked aghast. Cornelia nodded.
"Do I have to make it one hundred?" Cornelia asked menacingly. Will jumped down and started doing press-ups. "That's better."
Will gritted her teeth and focused on getting the press-ups done. Of all the exercises she had done, press-ups were her least favourite.
"Stupid…power-mad…" she muttered under her breath.
"When you're finished, we'll move onto the next stage." Cornelia said as she swept away gently.
"I just have to put up with her until she teaches me what I need to know. That's all I need to do." Will murmured angrily as she continued to do press-ups. Cornelia smirked as she heard Will's mutterings. She had NO idea what was going to happen.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Nerissa looked up at the restaurant and snorted with contempt.
"Of all the places she could have chosen, she chose this little hovel?" Nerissa sneered. "Well it may have helped you retain your cover years ago old friend, but surely you could have chosen something better than this hovel?"
"Her wisdom is nothing compared to your vision Mistress." Ember murmured with her head bowed. Nerissa simply frowned.
"Yan Lin might well be a self-righteous, but she is far from stupid." Nerissa snapped out. "There was a time I called her friend."
"Mistress…"
"Surround the building!" Nerissa rapped out. "Make sure nothing leaves!"
With a nod of his head, Shagon took off and took his position on one side of the restaurant. Ember swiftly moved to the second and Tridart took the rear. Nerissa stepped forward.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
"Forty-nine…fifty." Will huffed as she finished doing the press ups. Will snapped herself upright. "Finished!" she exclaimed. Cornelia was looking at her fingernails.
"Good. Do another fifty and then we'll begin." Cornelia told her in a bored voice.
"FIFTY!"
Cornelia gave Will a contemptuous look.
"Yes fifty. Unlike other sword disciplines, Earth swordmasters rely on our strength to fight. I can't even consider teaching you what I have to teach you until you're strong enough." Cornelia said primly.
"I'm strong enough!" Will protested. Cornelia simply smirked.
"Then the next fifty press ups should not be a problem then." She replied sweetly. "Now get moving."
As Will started doing the press ups, grumbling as she went, Cornelia smirked.
"If I'd have known it was this much fun to have an apprentice, I'd have taken one sooner." Cornelia murmured to herself, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Yan Lin watched as Nerissa smashed through the front door of the Silver Dragon. Grabbing her son's wrist in one hand and her daughter-in-law's wrist in the other, she pulled them close to her.
"Get out of here. Through the front, Nerissa will know about the back and will have already secured it. I'll distract her." Yan Lin hissed in a low voice.
"You know this person?" her son asked in a puzzled voice and Yan Lin nodded grimly.
"She used to be my friend." Yan Lin said with a look of distaste. "Before she fell into darkness." And before anything else could be said, Yan Lin stepped forward.
"I'm here Nerissa." She said calmly as she stepped out. Nerissa drew her sword.
"It's been a long time old friend." Nerissa countered. "But you need not worry about your family being hurt. I only want you."
"You wish to prove your superiority Nerissa, nothing more." Yan Lin countered sadly. "You and I both know that I am no match for you now."
"There was an Easterner swordmistress I encountered in Zamballa. A sweet young thing called Hay Lin I think? Did you know her?" Nerissa taunted. Yan Lin's face grew taut. "I see you did. Did you think she felt any pain when my pet Khor sliced her guts open?"
Yan Lin growled with uncharacteristic anger, glad that her son and daughter-in-law couldn't hear this.
"You lie Nerissa!" Yan Lin hissed, ignoring the twisting feeling in her stomach as she realised that Nerissa wouldn't bother with lying about this.
"You know me better than that Yannie." Nerissa taunted. "It would hardly be worth lying about that now."
Yan Lin let out a feral scream and swung her nunchaku downwards at Nerissa, who stepped aside with ease.
"Tut, tut. Surely you can do better than that?" Nerissa said mockingly. "I have fought by your side many times. I know you."
"Old age slows people down Nerissa." Yan Lin huffed and Nerissa shrugged.
"It does indeed." Nerissa admitted. "At least for everyone else it does." Spinning around on her heel, Nerissa swung her sword through Yan Lin's neck. "Goodbye old friend."
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Orube cursed as she reached the top of the rigging on ship and started to secure the mainsail. It was bad enough that it would take her ten days to travel to Meridian, but this storm meant that it could take longer. As the rain and wind buffeted and sprayed against her face, Orube shuddered from the cold and cursed again.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Will let out a groan of relief as she finally finished doing press ups. She jumped to her feet.
"Finished!" she exclaimed and Cornelia nodded.
"Good. Then we'll begin." Cornelia picked up a large rock and turned to face Will. "What I am going to teach you is part of a group of techniques belonging to the Horiki family of techniques."
"Horiki? Aren't they supposed to be God-techniques?" Will interrupted. Cornelia glared.
"Horiki techniques are not God powers." She told Will coldly. "You do not call on the power of Gods to wield them. Horiki techniques are simply techniques that have been developed by priests to protect themselves." Cornelia paused. "For your insolence, another fifty press ups."
Will groaned. Her muscles were aching; no practically screaming and now she had to do ANOTHER fifty press-ups. Cursing Cornelia, Will got down and started doing another round of press-ups.
"Stupid, power mad…" Will muttered under her breath. Cornelia simply shook her head.
"You should know better than to interrupt your teacher Will." Cornelia said firmly, before walking off and snickering in amusement.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
"I estimate that the storm has added another two days to our journey at least." The Captain told the assembled crew of the ship. "We will need everyone pulling double shifts if we're to avoid being any longer."
"Double shifts Captain?" one crewmember asked, a young man with short brown hair.
"Yes, double shifts." The Captain confirmed.
"Bu-" Orube suddenly leapt across the table and grabbed the young man by the scruff of his neck.
"The Captain says that double shifts are necessary, so double shifts you will do!" she hissed angrily. "Do you understand?"
"Y-y-yes." The man stuttered out under her fierce glare and the rest of the crew backed off slightly.
"Then you won't complain, will you?" Orube asked menacingly.
"N-n-no." the man stuttered out.
"Good. Now, does anyone else care to complain?" Orube asked as she looked around her. A chorus of no's was her response. "Then let's get to work!"
"With virtually no noise, the crew quickly snapped to work, determined to cross the frankly scary woman.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Will felt her muscles scream and sweat run down from her brow as she completed the press-ups. Cautiously, she stood up.
"Have you learned your lesson?" Cornelia asked and Will nodded, not least because she didn't trust herself to speak. "Good. Now, before I was interrupted, I was explaining to you what I am going to teach you." Cornelia paused and pointed at the rock in her hand. "To break a rock, you have to apply force. But all objects have resistance and as a result, some force is wasted through loss. To avoid losing force you must first hit the rock like this," Cornelia slowly hit the rock with her outstretched knuckles. "The moment that impact encounters the rocks resistance, you close your fist by folding it. The second strike will encounter no resistance, thus shattering the rock."
"Is that it sensei?" Will asked, determined to avoid yet more press-ups.
"Try it." Cornelia replied with a grin as she handed the rock to Will. "And if you fail, you can give me another fifty press-ups."
"Okay." Will said uncertainly. "I just have to break the rock, the way you told me right?"
"That's right." Cornelia affirmed. Will slammed her fist against the rock the way Cornelia had instructed, but the rock didn't shatter, but simply broke.
"Huh? It didn't shatter?" Will said surprised. Cornelia grinned.
"And when you've done another fifty press-ups, I'll explain why." She said and Will mentally groaned.
"Stupid…annoying…press-ups." Will cursed as she started the latest set. "I'm supposed to be learning, but I just end up doing press-ups."
"You need upper body strength to master this technique Will." Cornelia told her firmly and Will resisted the urge to curse. Knowing her luck, Cornelia would make her do more press-ups for being foul-mouthed.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Nerissa looked down at the body of her old friend and shook her head sadly.
"It's a shame you didn't join me in the beginning Yannie, we could have been unstoppable." Nerissa sighed. She clicked to her servants. "Let's leave!"
"We aren't going to destroy this place Mistress?" Shagon asked and Nerissa shook her head.
"No. Call it a last favour to an old friend." She replied with a hint of sadness. "And we don't really have time. Now MOVE!"
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Will REALLLY hated that smile on Cornelia's face, Will decided to herself as she stood up.
"Now listen carefully. The reason that you failed to shatter the rock is simple. To make the technique work, you must be quick. Both strikes must happen within one setsuna to make the technique work. Otherwise, you have simply delivered two blows." Cornelia paused and threw a rock into the air. Her fist shot out and the rock practically exploded. "When you have achieved that, you have mastered the 'Two Layers' technique."
Will shrugged. " I WILL master this technique. Hand me another rock please?"
Cornelia obliged and smiled as Will yet again failed to deliver the strikes fast enough.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
"So, what makes getting there so important to that psycho?" a crewman asked as he nodded at Orube.
"Beats me. Way Meridian is these days, with the civil war over the throne and everything, I'd have thought any sane person would want to spend as little time on the mainland as possible." His friend replied.
"Maybe she's a mercenary, seeking to earn a bit of cash." The first crewman suggested.
"Or maybe she's just having it off with the Captain. I wouldn't mind having her in my bed." A third crewmember added. "She's a real looker."
"My reasons for going to Meridian are private. Do not pry unless you want to be hurt." Orube hissed at them. "And do not talk about me behind my back, it's disrespectful."
There was a moment of stunned silence and the crew rushed about to their duties. Orube permitted herself a small smile though. Even psychopaths like hearing compliments about themselves, she mused to herself.
W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C..W.I.T.C.
Will glared at the rock sitting in her hand. Despite the fact that they'd been sitting there for a very long time and had broken many, many rocks and had even seen Cornelia demonstrate the move a few times, she STILL hadn't gotton it.
"The rock isn't going to shatter with you glaring at it." Cornelia informed Will dryly and Will glared at her.
"It isn't going to shatter when I punch it either!" Will snapped. "Watch!" And with that, Will tossed the rock into the air and punched the rock, which promptly shattered into a thousand pieces."
"It seems to me that it will." Cornelia countered with a smirk, before hugging the other woman. "Congratulations Will, I KNEW you had it in you!"
Will just sat there in complete shock. She really hadn't suspected that she would have actually done that then. But the fine shards of the rock she had just shattered were all over her hand, giving it a dusty appearance.
"I…actually did it." Will murmured in a stunned voice and Cornelia grinned.
"Of course you did. You had me as a teacher and I wouldn't let you fail!" Cornelia said firmly. "In fact, it would have been impossible for you to fail!"
"With all those press-ups?" Will asked sarcastically and Cornelia shook her head.
"Well there's no point trying to teach someone who isn't strong enough." Cornelia countered in an infuriatingly calm tone of voice. Then her face turned solemn. "I was wrong about you. I'm sorry."
"Yo-wh..?" Will asked, puzzled.
"I was wrong about you being the right person to lead us." Cornelia continued. "You ARE the one who can stop Nerissa and the threat she poses."
"Umm…thanks I suppose." Will said in a shocked voice. Another portal appeared a metre to Will's left and Will stood up.
"Good luck Will." Cornelia said and Will smiled.
"Thank you Sensei." She replied and stepped through the portal.
"Took her time, didn't she?" A man asked from behind Cornelia. Cornelia turned to face the owner of the voice.
"It took you a week to learn the technique, Master Sanosuke. I'd say she did pretty well." Cornelia countered and Sanosuke laughed.
"I know." He replied, before drawing out his Zanbato. "Here is the heart of your discipline. Try not to disgrace it."
"This is me we're talking about. I am hardly going to disgrace it." Cornelia replied snootily, before taking the sword. "But I will make sure I use it properly."
"Well you're confident at least. Try not to get cocky." Sanosuke said with a smirk. Then, without any further ado, he disappeared.